Blog Promotion December 29, 2006
Posted by Christine in Blogging, marketing.add a comment
A little while ago I wrote an article on Self Promotion, but basically promotion yourself in our modern world stands equal with promoting a blog. Blogs are used by everyone, from stay-at-home-moms to top CEOs. Obviously, with milions of blogs out there, one must be pretty decent at promoting it to get a decent readership.
A first step to promoting a blog is actually writing something worth reading. It’s easier said than done, but once you become a “recognized expert” in your own little cozy niche, you can count on developing a solid blog subscriber base.
Moving on to our next strategy is linking. Yes, be generous and be rewarded is the universal blogging rule. You link to someone, and by sending a backtrack they will (usually) link back to you. Some bloggers disable the trackback function, and I’m sure they have their reasons, even though the web can only be a true web if people link to other people. Blogging makes exactly this so tremendously easy and convenient. This is not a guarantee for page ranking though. Recently “no follow” has stopped bloggers from “spreading the love” as they have in the past.
Getting linked to by an A-list blogger is a big boost to traffic and page rank. There are a few interesting ways by which this may be achieved… I personally do not necessarily endorse these methods though… most of them are a bit outlandish.
Generics Don’t Work! December 29, 2006
Posted by Christine in writing.add a comment
When I saw smarter writing on a “store brand” bottle of kitchen cleaner and noticed the bottle design was anything but “generic” it hit me: generics don’t work anymore!
Being, or looking generic in the way you present your business will not work any better than it does for products. I think of it this way: people don’t want to welcome guests to a home where the liquid soap in the powder room comes in a hideous white bottle with large neon green letters spelling out CHEAP-BRAND splashed on the surface.
People don’t want to appear “common”, but many businesses still do. While individuals spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on exclusive and designer wedding invitations, the average small business or entrepreneur does not want to part with any of his marketing dollars to make the message unique, and make the business stand out in an often saturated market. Brainstorming on Market Positioning is an important first step towards a successful marketing campaign.
Great Business Ideas December 26, 2006
Posted by Christine in Business.add a comment
What sets apart a person who comes up with great ideas, seemingly effortlessly, from a person who breaks his head and just cannot seem to be struck by any ideas? Who knows how many factors are involved, creativity for one, but there is a factor you can control.
Instead of sitting down and trying to ‘force’ good ideas to flow out of you, rather concentrate on grabbing onto great business ideas when they do strike. Ever thought of something only to forget it before you could write it down? It’s perhaps a more common problem for writers than in general business, as our ideas usually do not just revolve around concepts but are rather more specific formulations. Nevertheless, a successful business person always carries around a small notebook and pen.
While you carry around notebook and pencil, just let go and stop pressuring yourself for ‘good ideas’. They hardly ever come at moments you are looking for them the most. Instead, go out there, read, talk to people,… even set up a brainstorming session. Brainstorming with many people is one situation where ‘looking’ for great business ideas can be productive.
I started carrying around pen and paper, it allows me to jot down project ideas while on the road or while I am doing something else. The good news for my clients is that they basically do not pay me for the time I am being creatively detached from their project, which is necessary for some of those good ideas to pop up in my head. They get a better product, without spending more on it.
In your business, you could be creating new products and concepts without spending more time at the office. Just train yourself to be in a state of mind that is receptive to ideas that could relate to your business. For example; if you have been trying to come up with a new toy, sitting in your office researching existing toys will not do much for you. Instead visit a playground, or observe children play with their toys. Likely you’ll see how something could be made better, or you might come up with something completely new.
Getting Organized Leads to Profitable Business December 25, 2006
Posted by Christine in Online Marketing, direct mail, direct mail marketing, marketing.add a comment
I cannot stress enough how important it is to be organized in business. I cut the time it takes to take care of my marketing strategies in half by implementing a system that works for me.
I’ve helped a lot of real estate agents formulate effective direct mail campaigns. Real estate agents are a great example of professionals who deal with a great number of clients at the same time. Keeping their records straight and organized can make of break a (direct mail) marketing campaign. Recently I came across great Real Estate Software. While it was developed with real estate agents in mind, I personally believe more professionals can put it to good use in their business.
When selecting new software to help you be more organized and streamline your business, always look for one that offers a free trial period. You wouldn’t buy a business suit without trying it on, so apply the same to business software. Not because most software is “bad”, it is not. Rather because everyone is different, and certain types of software could be right for you while others do not offer the features you are looking for in your business.
When you do find the right software, it can dramatically improve your organization and help you drastically increase your profits.
New Resource for Freelance Writers December 22, 2006
Posted by Christine in Blogs I Like, tools, writing.add a comment
A new site for freelance writers is on the radar. The aim of the site is to bring all relevant resources for writers together in one place. This includes tools, books, news, freelance markets and of course… freelance writing job listings!
This site is so fresh it literally started out today and there is already a list of Freelance Writing Jobs posted.
Blogs: A Starting Point for Writers December 21, 2006
Posted by Christine in tools, writing for the web.add a comment
On occasion I agree to coach a fellow writer and nudge them into the right direction, whether writing a novel or trying to break into the freelance market. The most common question is the obvious “where do I start?”. I’m going to state the obvious here, but the best starting point is really a blog. Don’t just start a blog that describes every minute of your mildly interesting existence, but rather a blog covering a topic in a niche you, as a writer, want to break into.
Two reasons:
1: Exposure, you make a name for yourself.
2: Clips, your chances are slim to none to get an assignment without writing samples.
A relatively new trend is the “paid to blog” phenomenon. Bloggers can still implement ads into their pages (e.g. google adsense), but they can actually be paid for writing a review about a website or product. This can really add up financially if your site is new and does not receive a lot of traffic yet, considering the pay off from programs like adsense depends on getting enough visitors to your site.
I edit/host a few different blogs myself, and I just recently started using PayPerPost.
The pay per blog post is not bad, you get to choose what you write about and the only relative disadvantage so far is that there is a 2 post maximum per day. There are days where I wish I could take 3-5 opportunities, which would also make the incentive more worthwhile. However, it is nonetheless a great place to start, especially for writers at the beginning of their career.
Money Saving Site: The Thrifty Scot December 20, 2006
Posted by Christine in General Interest, tools.add a comment
I’m always a sucker for new money advice resouces. A new find is The Thrifty Scot, a UK based site with information on how to save money with credit cards, secured loans, mortgages, savings accounts and home insurance. Their home page states they are the “The no nonsense, plain speaking-money saving advice site”. The site is obviously still growing but it will be interesting to see where it goes. Each section has several articles related to common questions, such as “cut the cost of existing loans”. The site also publishes the latest financial news, although the news seems to be mostly focused on the UK market.
Pingo: Keeping Track of Calling Costs December 20, 2006
Posted by Christine in tools.add a comment
When building a business operating costs can become a serious headache, especially when your profits are still a little unstable. Being creative about cutting costs can make a huge difference at the end of the fiscal year. My personal strategy is to look at services that are offered elsewhere for less. As such I don’t have an office fax or phone, but instead I use internet faxing.
As most of my clients are far away, I rarely use my business line to make long distance phone calls. Instead I save overhead by using prepaid calling card service. Pingo offers a great service and allows you to keep track of all your spending.
Stop Doing Everything Yourself in Business! December 17, 2006
Posted by Christine in Business, marketing.3 comments
As Anthony Davis says in his “E-tip No. 67 Why do everything yourself?” , really…. Why do you do everything yourself? In many small businesses there is simply a cash flow problem, but even in large corporations there are trends where some members of a team pick up all the responsibility for a job and are the first to be home with serious burn-out.
Remember when you were in college and you were assigned to do a project with five other students? Didn’t only two or maybe even three of you do all the work while the rest sat back and enjoyed the good grade you received? All too often it is the same in business, but not always are unproductive employees called on it. After all, we think we can do it faster/better/different anyways, so why bother asking someone repeatedly to do something? You should ask because you want to stay sane, and if you are running around doing other people’s job you cannot do it faster/better/different.
Give your employee the resources and trust that he or she can do the job. If you don’t trust them with it, why should they bother?
Create an environment where your employees are accountable, and trusted. Then, if a project stalls they will not hesitate to come to you for advice. At which point you could decide the project needs additional expert input and you can hire an impartial outsider. Benefits are that you pay for what you get, and the expert may get the job done better, faster.
Time is money, put both to good use!
Business & Profits: The Importance of Clarity December 13, 2006
Posted by Christine in Business, Online Marketing, marketing.add a comment
Fancy words are what some clients expect writers have stocked in their mental inventory, and in some cases they are the reason writers are hired. However, above anything else, you should be clear in your brochures, on your websites and any other medium you use to communicate to prospective customers or clients.
Fancy words are best kept for literary works, or can be sparingly used in some types of commercial work. Instead, strive to be clear about your services, your goals, your mission and also your pricing structure. Keep in mind; clarity does not mean “unprofessional” or “poor wording”, it means your prospective clients understand what you are trying to tell them. This sounds like an excessively simple thing, but you would be surprised how many companies confuse the heck out of you! There are two possible scenarios if you fail in the clarity department:
a) The prospective client leaves, desists, does not contact you and is never heard from… the marketing dollars you spend to reach that prospective client are then obviously wasted.
b) The prospective client does not leave, but contacts you to ask questions, only to discover you were not the right choice for whatever reason (perhaps you are trying to market a service, and the prospective client is looking for a product).
In the first case, you ‘wasted’ money, in the second case you lost time. In any event it is never a waste of time to talk to prospective clients, but only if that client is truly a prospective client and not another business’ prospective client. The question is whether they actually can give you business, are you what they are looking for?
Even if you are doing a great job of writing your own marketing material, have your own marketing staff or cannot afford a big budget campaign, it is always a good idea to at least get some editing done on the existing material. A good copy writer will not just edit, but also offer some helpful advice/minor rewriting that can really sky rocket your response.
If you are in business to make a profit, you should look at which strategies are working and which ones work for other businesses in a similar/same market. For example; if direct mail works wonders for some real estate agents in your district, but you are just spending money without seeing results then there is something wrong with either your distribution, your copy or both.
If you make time to turn a profit, then you should make time to revisit strategies that could give you a better response. What better time than right now?
(p.s. I’ve gotten questions regarding what a “good response” is to a marketing strategy. The answer is: it depends. Direct mail is different from banner advertising. Basically you need to see a return on your investment, if you don’t then you need to tweak it until you do see a strong ROI.)
Self Promotion December 6, 2006
Posted by Christine in writing.add a comment
Regardless of what you do for a living, whether you are a writer, a scientist or a lawyer, it is not enough to be great at what you do. You also have to be great at marketing,… yourself! That is perhaps the most challenging part once you have acquired the skills you need to actually do your job. There are great professionals who are underpaid because they are not landing the “big jobs” (whether full time or freelance). They may not have any networking skills, or not know how to start networking. They may not be good at “self promotion” when they do network. Whatever the case, in today’s day and age we all need to be excellent marketers before we even get a job.
Why am I saying this? Because it is an often overlooked fact of the job market. People post resumes online, write cover letters and submit job applications or queries left and right. In most cases it is hit and miss and meeting one person by chance could turn your career around 180 degrees. It can be frustrating when you don’t know where to start, and frankly I don’t believe there is a strict “formula” for success. Instead there are many strategies that could work, depending on your unique situation.
I was pondering about this issue after reading some earning reports from a fellow writer, who shall remain unnamed, and talking to a friend who was recently back on the job market. While some people (in any industry) earn $10.000 for a particular project, others only pull in $250 if they are lucky. Similarly, my friend received offers ranging from $40.000 a year to $150.000 a year for the same job description! The difference on both cases? Simple: how big is your employers budget? And how much do they value your work? So the key is to network, and preferably network with people who do have appropriate budgets for whatever it is you would be hired to do for them. There is no such thing as a budget that is “too big”, but there are budgets that are simply too small, and if there is nothing you can do to change that then all you can do is save your working hours for companies that are willing to invest in quality talent.
